Bogu Size Questions (already made or custom made)

I'm a twenty year old female student and my sensei told me that I’m ready to start wearing bogu. I've been practicing since last fall.

I'm on a bit of a budget, and I have absolutely no idea how to tell which bogu set to get. It's overwhelming! Does anybody have any tips for sizing and stuff?

There are no dojos or places that sell kendo gear near where I live during the summer, so I wouldn't be able to try it on. I'm worried that I'm going to spend a lot of money on bogu that's not right for me.

Answer: First of all, you should not get a super cheap bōgu set because you are on budget. Oh, just I must point out that All Japan Kendo Federation uses kendōgu not bōgu anymore. So I use kendōgu from now.

If you do not have money right now, save money for good kendōgu. It is to protect your body and you should take it seriously. If you have kendōgu that does not fit you, not only it is dangerous but also you will develop bad habits.

Of course everything should fit you but kote and men should really fit you!

You must know that men has a space called monomi through where you should see your opponent. The 7th space from the top of mengane is the monomi. So your eyes should be there.

But with an already made men, there is no guarantee that you can have monomi right in front of your eyes. So that is why it is important for you to have monomi.

Even if you go with an already made men, you should check it. Then if you cannot see through the monomi, then you should ask for another one.

Kote is really hard to tell but usually if new pairs feel tight. Some kote has a lot of deer hair or cotton in kote-gashira (the fist part) to decrease the impact of strikes but then you feel really tight. But it will settle after a while.

Again if you buy already made kote, they will send you the size they already have so you do not know if they might be too big or too small.

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